Josh Mcdaniels - Pro Football Rumors

Josh McDaniels Expected To Choose Colts

January 15th, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although a report emerged on Sunday indicating the Colts were moving forward with Josh McDaniels as their head coach, the Titans’ firing muddied those plans. But it looks like that will be a momentary blip.

McDaniels is expected to choose the Colts and become their head coach, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (Twitter link). This will come after the Titans — and former McDaniels Patriots colleague Jon Robinson — were expressing interest.

No offer has been made, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star notes (on Twitter), but he adds the Colts don’t appear to be nervous about the Titans’ late entrance into this race. The Colts cannot formally offer McDaniels this job until the Patriots’ season concludes.

However, the Colts and McDaniels have been connected to going forward together since late last week when he and Texans first-year DC Mike Vrabel became the finalists for this position. McDaniels has 10 years of OC experience (nine with the Patriots and one with the Rams) and was the Broncos’ head coach for most of the 2009-10 seasons. Although that partnership did not work out, McDaniels has continued to churn out top-tier offenses in New England.

While the 41-year-old OC has enjoyed the benefit of having one of the greatest quarterbacks off all time around which to center his offense, Tom Brady has also done his best work under McDaniels. Prior to McDaniels taking over as Patriots OC in 2006, Brady had one 4,000-yard passing season and had never thrown more than 28 TD passes in a campaign. While Brady thrived under Bill O’Brien while McDaniels was in Denver and St. Louis, he’s maintained top-level play at an age when most quarterbacks have retired slowed down.

McDaniels interviewed with the Colts, Bears and Giants — and as of Monday morning was still in contention for the Giants’ job. But Chicago went with former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, and the Giants are expected to offer their HC job to Pat Shurmur. The Titans entered the race late but were not believed to be a serious Colts threat. Chris Ballard and his likely HC hire share an agent in Bob LaMonte, and have a “strong relationship” — per Rapoport (on Twitter).

McDaniels will be the person tasked with restoring Andrew Luck as one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks.

Colts Still Favorites For Josh McDaniels?

January 15th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans shook up the coaching race on Monday morning by backtracking on their Mike Mularkey decision, and this could throw a wrench into the Colts’ plans for Josh McDaniels.

But it’s looking like the Colts are still the frontrunners to land the Patriots’ OC. The Titans indeed are interested in McDaniels, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets, but have “little to no shot” of landing him. Describing the Colts as “heavy favorites,” La Canfora adds (Twitter link) McDaniels and Matt Patricia‘s respective paths to Indianapolis and Detroit are still believed to be on track.

Tom Pelissero of NFL.com describes the Colts and McDaniels as having “strong mutual interest.” McDaniels and Chris Ballard share an agent. An NFL rule would allow the Titans to speak with assistant coaches whose teams are still alive in the postseason on Jan. 28, provided they previously interviewed for another team’s HC job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter).

Josh McDaniels Prefers Titans To Colts?

January 15th, 2018 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

Josh McDaniels will be the next head coach of the Colts. Or maybe not.

The Titans canned Mike Mularkey on Monday morning, opening up speculation that the Titans have their eye on another head coaching candidate. If that preferred candidate is McDaniels, then they could have a match. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (Twitter link), the belief prior to the Colts report was that McDaniels would prefer the Titans to all of the other available coaching jobs. McDaniels is high on Marcus Mariota‘s potential and also has concerns about Andrew Luck‘s health.

McDaniels may have had a verbal agreement with the Colts, but there’s nothing in writing as the Patriots’ season is still ongoing. Until then, there will be speculation surrounding a reunion between McDaniels and former Pats exec Jon Robinson,

Giants Down To Shurmur, McDaniels?

January 15th, 2018 at 9:16am CST by Zachary Links

And then there were two. Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are the finalists for the Giants’ head coaching position, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter).

It appears that McDaniels is now a leading candidate for three different head coaching vacancies. Over the weekend, it was reported that he is set to take the Colts’ head coaching job. However, the Titans parted ways with Mike Mularkey on Monday morning, leading to speculation that McDaniels could be in play for Tennessee.

A Shurmur hire could be a popular one in the tri-state area, particularly after he called the game-winning play in Sunday’s thrilling win over the Saints. If he is indeed the next head coach of the Giants, however, fans could be waiting until February for that to be made official. If Shurmur and the Vikings get past the Eagles on Sunday, they’ll be Super Bowl bound.

Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was said to still be in the running for the Giants’ job, but it appears that is no longer the case. Meanwhile, Shurmur was believed to be a leading candidate for the Cardinals’ vacancy, so they may have to shift their focus elsewhere.

East Notes: McDaniels, Patriots, Z. Jones

January 14th, 2018 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Parks

Two of the Giants‘ top choices for their head coaching vacancy, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, are reportedly set to accept jobs elsewhere. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, however, says that Big Blue fans should not count out McDaniels just yet. One team source says the Giants have not been informed that McDaniels is out of the mix, and while it has been reported that McDaniels wants more control over personnel than New York is willing to allow, the team feels it can resolve that issue.

Nonetheless, Vacchiano concedes that Patricia is off the table, and if McDaniels does indeed take the Colts’ job, that leaves the Giants with Pat Shurmur and Steve Wilks as their top remaining targets. But Vacchiano says Shurmur appears to prefer the Cardinals’ gig, and Arizona is apparently prepared to offer it to him. So it appears that things may be coming full circle, with Wilks looking increasingly like New York’s next head coach.

Now let’s take a look at more notes out of the east:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) reports that Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady will meet this offseason to clear the air and to resolve whatever tensions exist among themselves. While reports of discord within the organization were likely overblown, Rapoport says there is indeed some tension within the triumvirate, and since Belichick and Brady are not going anywhere until they choose to leave, it makes sense that the three men would want to hash out their issues.
Bills WR Zay Jones reportedly played his rookie campaign with a torn labrum, and his father, former NFL linebacker Robert Jones, told Robert Quinn of the Bills Wire that his son will have surgery on Tuesday to repair the injury. Zay Jones finished the 2017 season with 27 catches for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
The Dolphins will not retain defensive line coach Terrell Williams, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Williams coached the team’s D-line for the past three seasons, and his unit experienced mixed results in 2017. Jackson adds that former offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen has indeed been reassigned to a new role within the organization, as was expected after Miami hired Dowell Loggains as its new OC earlier this month.

Josh McDaniels Expected To Become Colts’ HC

January 14th, 2018 at 8:33am CST by Rory Parks

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link) that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is expected to become the Colts’ next head coach. McDaniels has reportedly told his potential assistants to wait for him, and Rapoport’s sources believe McDaniels is Indianapolis-bound once New England’s season is over.

Just yesterday, we learned that McDaniels and former Patriots linebacker (and current Texans DC) Mike Vrabel were the finalists for the Colts’ head coaching job. But McDaniels has seemed like the favorite for awhile now, especially given ownership’s desire for something of a splashy hire.

McDaniels compiled an underwhelming 11-17 record during his two-year stint as head coach of the Broncos, but he has more than restored his viability as a head coach since returning to New England. The Patriots’ offense has ranked in the top-10 in points scored during each of his nine years as the Pats’ OC, and McDaniels’ unit put up yet another impressive showing in the team’s divisional round win over Tennessee last night.

McDaniels, of course, has had the privilege of working with Tom Brady during his New England career, and he will inherit another excellent signal-caller in Andrew Luck should he take the Colts’ job. Luck’s health, though, will continue to be a major topic of discussion this offseason, and it was rumored that his shoulder injury may scare off top head coaching candidates. Luckily for Indianapolis, that does not appear to be the case.

As we learned several days ago, Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus — who is currently a free agent — is McDaniels’ top choice for defensive coordinator, per Rapoport (via Twitter).

Josh McDaniels, Mike Vrabel Finalists For Colts’ HC Job

January 13th, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Ben Levine

Nearly two weeks after firing coach Chuck Pagano, it sounds like the Colts are zeroing in on a pair of potential replacements. NFL.com’s Albert Breer reports (via Twitter) that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel have “emerged as finalists” for the head coaching gig.

The Colts cast a relatively wide net during their search. In addition to Vrabel and McDaniels, our head coaching tracker shows that the organization also reached out to Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard, former Chiefs offensive coordinator (and current Bears head coach) Matt Nagy, Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, and Baylor head coach Matt Rhule. Breer cautions that the Colts could add another name to their list of “finalists.”

McDaniels compiled an underwhelming 11-17 record during his two-year stint with the Broncos, but he’s had a lot more success serving as the offensive coordinator for the Patriots. New England’s offense has ranked in the top-10 for points scored during each of his nine years at the helm. Meanwhile, Vrabel’s first season as the Texans defensive coordinator didn’t lead to stellar results. However, the former Patriots linebacker previously displayed his coaching chops while serving as Houston’s linebackers coach between 2014 and 2016.

Latest On The Giants’ HC Search

January 12th, 2018 at 5:29pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Giants have interviewed six candidates for their vacant head coach position and could start to be moving more quickly on completing their search in the next week. Of the six coaches they’ve interviewed, it appears that Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Patriots’ coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia are the favorites to land the position, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

All three candidates have garnered interest from around football and should either the Patriots or Vikings be eliminated from the playoffs this weekend, Vacchiano thinks that the “Giants could have a new coach in place by next week”. If both teams take care of business at home in the Divisional Round, the process will likely extend another two weeks as the Giants management tries to figure out a way to get one last meeting with their top choice, whoever that may be.

Shurmur and McDaniels look like natural fits for the job as they have an offensive background and previous head coaching experience. The team has been rumored to want experience in whoever they hire and could also want someone who has the ability to get the most out of a young quarterback, should they choose to draft either Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen with the number two overall selection in April’s draft. However, Patricia clearly impressed in his initial interview enough to have the Giants move away from their original checklist.

In a wrinkle to Vacchiano’s story, there could be another sleeper candidate lurking behind the scenes, reports Tom Rock and Bob Glauber of Newsday. A source told the writers that should all three candidates land other positions with the likes of Arizona, Detroit and Indianapolis, the team has a backup plan. While no names were given for who that prospective fourth coach could be, Rock and Glauber speculated that defensive coordinators Steve Wilks and Jim Schwartz could be options as well as Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, who was passed over for the Bears head coaching gig.

New York has officially interviewed McDaniels, Patricia, Shurmur, Wilks, Steve Spagnuolo and Eric Studesville. They could also eventually interview Schwartz, even though his previously scheduled interview has been put on hold.

Coaching Rumors: DeFilippo, Chiefs, Raiders

January 11th, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

John DeFilippo interviewed for the Cardinals’ HC job, but if the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach does not land it, he could be an offensive coordinator option elsewhere. DeFilippo’s contract expires at season’s end, Albert Breer of SI.com reports. The second-year Eagles QBs coach looks to have caught the eye of Steve Wilks, who has interviewed for two HC jobs. Breer notes Wilks would want DeFilippo to run his offense if he lands an HC job. Interestingly, Wilks’ best path to said job looks to be with the Cardinals. The Bears met with DeFilippo as well but have already selected their next HC.

Here’s the latest from the coaching ranks.

While Wilks and DeFilippo could be connected, Josh McDaniels and Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus may be a possible pairing as well. Breer notes the Patriots’ OC accepting a head-coaching job could lead to Eberflus becoming McDaniels’ DC. Eberflus has coached Dallas’ linebackers since the 2011 season. Prior to that, he served as the Browns’ LBs coach.
The Chiefs made quick work of replacing since-promoted Eric Bieniemy as their running backs coach. They interviewed USC running backs coach Deland McCullough for the position on Thursday and will hire him, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports. McCullough, 45, played for the Bengals and Eagles in the late 1990s and coached the likes of Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard at Indiana during a six-year stay as the Hoosiers’ RBs boss. He coached at USC for one season.
Bobby Johnson received a Raiders HC interview that is being scrutinized by the NFL, since it may have happened after a Mark Davis/Jon Gruden agreement, but Johnson won’t be a part of Gruden’s 2018 staff. The Raiders are firing their tight ends coach and are expected to hire Bears tight ends coach Frank Smith, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). A previous contender for the Oakland offensive line coaching job, Smith coached the Bears’ tight ends for three years.
The Raiders are casting a wide net for their next O-line coach. Former Patriots and Dolphins OL boss Dave DeGuglielmo is in the mix and will interview Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Dolphins, who hired DeGuglielmo to replace the fired Chris Foerster in October, granted permission for this meeting. Miami hired Jeremiah Washburn to coach its O-line, so this would seemingly pave a path out of south Florida for DeGuglielmo.
New Packers DC Mike Pettine hired former Giants and Patriots defensive assistant Patrick Graham, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. A Patriots staffer from 2009-15, coaching both New England’s defensive line and linebackers, the 38-year-old Graham is expected to be in charge of Packers ‘backers in some capacity, per Silverstein. Green Bay’s ILBs job is available, and Graham prefers to coach linebackers rather than D-linemen, Silverstein notes.
The Bears are interested in Texans offensive assistant Pat O’Hara to become their quarterbacks coach, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. O’Hara and Matt Nagy were both Arena League quarterbacks in the 2000s, although O’Hara is 10 years older than Nagy. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets an O’Hara hire doesn’t mean incumbent QBs coach Dave Ragone will be dismissed. Ragone, a former wideouts coach with the Titans, was a possible candidate to stay despite a new HC’s hire.

Steve Wilks No Longer In Running For Giants’ Job?

January 11th, 2018 at 5:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The full assortment of Giants decision-makers only attended the Steve Wilks HC interview earlier this week, with co-owner Steve Tisch joining Big Blue brass in meeting with the Panthers’ DC. But Wilks may have to concentrate on other options going forward.

The Giants are believed to be down to three finalists for their top coaching job: Vikings OC Pat Shurmur and Patriots coordinators Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels. Wilks did not make the cut after the first round of meetings, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.

Each of these coaches are preparing for divisional-round games, so the Giants look to be willing to wait to make their hire. Patricia is said to prefer the Giants to the Lions, who were once reported to have zeroed in on Patricia as the favorite to land their job. McDaniels might be a better bet to become the next Colts coach as well; he interviewed for both Indianapolis and New York’s HC vacancies. The Cardinals are also in on Shurmur.

An unofficial agreement could be reached between the Giants and one of these candidates, a la the 49ers’ process with Kyle Shanahan, but New York must wait until the Vikings or Patriots is eliminated to make an official hire.

Schwartz notes the Giants believe McDaniels would work well with their next quarterback, or with Eli Manning, and the team may view Shurmur as the most well-rounded candidate. The New York-based reporter adds the Giants are also concerned McDaniels might still not be ready, considering what happened the first time he was a head coach, and might not be comfortable with a strong GM presence. The Giants are also unsure, per Schwartz, Patricia brings the “CEO-type” leadership Dave Gettleman covets in an HC.